REVIEW: KW V3 Coilover Kit for F10M5 after 40k miles

[mastek]

Long overdue review ...

I had the KW V3 kit on my F10M5 for about 40k miles
Put the OE shocks and springs back on car before i sold it last month.
Wow, what a difference.

How can i put this into a short sentence ...
"Best aftermarket modification for the F10 M5"
In every way.

- Handling = Perfect handling for a 4300 lbs car ... makes it feel 800 lbs. lighter.
Cornering is a dream. Steady and confident when aggressive. Soft and compliant when in cruise mode. Perfect balance of street car and beast mode.

- Comfort = Amazing difference between the OE shocks and the KW V3 shocks. Waaaay more compliant and predictable and comfortable over rough, broken roads. Its the difference between how a Toyota Corolla rides compared to a Lexus or Infinity.

- Acceleration = The F10M5 power becomes more usable as weight is transfered to the rear wheels. And accelerating out of a corner becomes much more stable and predictable.

- Braking = Much improved as body dive is almost eliminated. Much more confident braking.

It blows my mind that any F10M5 owner is driving this car without this kit. It is a MUST HAVE for this car. Everything changes to the "Ultimate Driving Machine"
It improves the car in every way: Comfort, Handling, Acceleration and Braking.
Do yourself a favor and get this kit if you have this car.

HOWEVER, there is definitely something to be said about proper installation of this kit.
There is no big trick, but its a collection of little things that matter. And some shops have the experience and most dont.
The most important is proper ride height, corner balance, alignment and finally ... correct spring to OE hats/top mounts installation.

You cannot get the alignment within spec if you drop the car too low and both of those will in turn affect the handling in a negative way.

Good luck and I hope this review helps.

[boots]

Agreed to all of the above. Wouldn't trade mine

[Used2be]

Originally Posted by mastek

Comfort = Amazing difference between the OE shocks and the KW V3 shocks. Waaaay more compliant and predictable and comfortable over rough, broken roads. Its the difference between how a Toyota Corolla rides compared to a Lexus or Infinity.

The feel of the KW shocks surprised me the most. So much more smooth, yet more controlled than stock. I almost went for the KW HAS and am so glad I didn't. If all you want is height control HAS is fine, but you're missing the best part!

[Hellrot Sachin]

awesome post. Thanks for the info.

I'm having mine installed soon by a BMW certified tech. I don't anticipate any problems but any install tips, esp with regard to the spring/hats?

[m5 guy]

This is nice to hear. It really is shocking the lack of proper suspension options for this car compared to the e39 or even an e60. Two brands of coilovers, and one brand for sway bars and monoballs. That's it.

I guess as they got faster, bigger, and more comfortable, people loss the desire to turn. I took it a step further and have the club sports on order. Price for them became much more reasonable than first released. They come with linear springs and top mounts so I'm super excited about it. Next up will be the Dinan monoballs and sway bars, but I want to wait and do each of the 3 mods one at a time.

Thanks again for the long term review!

[BLK_08E90]

Originally Posted by mastek

Long overdue review ...

I had the KW V3 kit on my F10M5 for about 40k miles
Put the OE shocks and springs back on car before i sold it last month.
Wow, what a difference.

How can i put this into a short sentence ...
"Best aftermarket modification for the F10 M5"
In every way.

- Handling = Perfect handling for a 4300 lbs car ... makes it feel 800 lbs. lighter.
Cornering is a dream. Steady and confident when aggressive. Soft and compliant when in cruise mode. Perfect balance of street car and beast mode.

- Comfort = Amazing difference between the OE shocks and the KW V3 shocks. Waaaay more compliant and predictable and comfortable over rough, broken roads. Its the difference between how a Toyota Corolla rides compared to a Lexus or Infinity.

- Acceleration = The F10M5 power becomes more usable as weight is transfered to the rear wheels. And accelerating out of a corner becomes much more stable and predictable.

- Braking = Much improved as body dive is almost eliminated. Much more confident braking.

It blows my mind that any F10M5 owner is driving this car without this kit. It is a MUST HAVE for this car. Everything changes to the "Ultimate Driving Machine"
It improves the car in every way: Comfort, Handling, Acceleration and Braking.
Do yourself a favor and get this kit if you have this car.

HOWEVER, there is definitely something to be said about proper installation of this kit.
There is no big trick, but its a collection of little things that matter. And some shops have the experience and most dont.
The most important is proper ride height, corner balance, alignment and finally ... correct spring to OE hats/top mounts installation.

You cannot get the alignment within spec if you drop the car too low and both of those will in turn affect the handling in a negative way.

Good luck and I hope this review helps.

Thanks for the good review, I have been flip flopping about installing them. I see your in SOCAL, any recommendation on install shop?

[ur20v]

KW V3's had the same effect on my GT3. he suppleness was the biggest suprise, the control was a given... Great product.

[mastek]

Originally Posted by m5 guy

This is nice to hear. It really is shocking the lack of proper suspension options for this car compared to the e39 or even an e60. Two brands of coilovers, and one brand for sway bars and monoballs. That's it.

I guess as they got faster, bigger, and more comfortable, people loss the desire to turn. I took it a step further and have the club sports on order. Price for them became much more reasonable than first released. They come with linear springs and top mounts so I'm super excited about it. Next up will be the Dinan monoballs and sway bars, but I want to wait and do each of the 3 mods one at a time.

Thanks again for the long term review!

I would not advise the KW Clubsports for street use.
They are harsher for comfort and require rebuild sooner since they are more complex.
But to each their own .. just my .02

[mastek]

Originally Posted by BLK_08E90

Thanks for the good review, I have been flip flopping about installing them. I see your in SOCAL, any recommendation on install shop?

Yes, www.emw1.com ... talk to John and tell him about this review.

[mastek]

Originally Posted by Hellrot Sachin

awesome post. Thanks for the info.

I'm having mine installed soon by a BMW certified tech. I don't anticipate any problems but any install tips, esp with regard to the spring/hats?

Its really not a matter of a master tech or a noob ... but rather that they specifically hve done this kit on this car.

The OE top mounts get used on the KW V3 kit and need to be sat correctly into place ... at the same time they have to be aligned with the mounting holes for the chassis ... its a bit tricky because you do the top hats on the spring compression machine ... then try to align to car chassis.
If the installer is not paying attention to this and they lazy .. they will install them with slrings sitting in wrong position and binding.
It might take a few attempts for a newb ...and for someone who knows ... they will mark the top hat so they can tell where it goes.

Hard to explain ... easy to demonstrate in person.

[Hellrot Sachin]

Originally Posted by mastek

Its really not a matter of a master tech or a noob ... but rather that they specifically hve done this kit on this car.

The OE top mounts get used on the KW V3 kit and need to be sat correctly into place ... at the same time they have to be aligned with the mounting holes for the chassis ... its a bit tricky because you do the top hats on the spring compression machine ... then try to align to car chassis.
If the installer is not paying attention to this and they lazy .. they will install them with slrings sitting in wrong position and binding.
It might take a few attempts for a newb ...and for someone who knows ... they will mark the top hat so they can tell where it goes.

Hard to explain ... easy to demonstrate in person.

gotcha, were you on out of the box settings?

[mastek]

Originally Posted by Hellrot Sachin

gotcha, were you on out of the box settings?

I still have the kit in a box ... gonna sell it soon
Will check and post here my settings.
Ride height was custom according to best corner balance and alignment results.

[6spdterror]

Had the Eibach setup on my M5 and now have the KW has kit, i know it isnt the V3 but its leages ahead of the Eibach and the H&R setup. Especially on these terrible NYC roads

[mastek]

Originally Posted by 6spdterror

Had the Eibach setup on my M5 and now have the KW has kit, i know it isnt the V3 but its leages ahead of the Eibach and the H&R setup. Especially on these terrible NYC roads

If there was such a big difference between springs and springs with an adjustable height perch ... then the KW V3 kit with springs, helper springs, adjustable height perch and 2-way adjustable shocks .... will blow your mind.
Springs only support a chassis. Shocks do all the work to keep the wheel on the ground while absorbing impacts and dealing with weight transfer.

[Signature Wheel BMW]

Great review. You simply cannot go wrong with KW and Bilstein products.

[tec333]

Are most of you guys just using out of the box settings? I'm thinking about going a little "stiffer"

[Hellrot Sachin]

Originally Posted by tec333

Are most of you guys just using out of the box settings? I'm thinking about going a little "stiffer"

I'm out of the box.. only had for a week but loving so far.

[lsturbointeg]

Love my KW's!

[vafan13]

Digging this up to add my thoughts (thus far) on KW V3s I just had installed, after going for a post-install "test drive".

holy cow. I'm actually a bit flabbergasted thinking about why an M5 wouldn't have a suspension setup this good from the start. Can basically say "ditto" to everything the OP posted.

While it was the least important category for me among the four the OP lists, I do want to say that I purposely went on a terrible road (twice) to test his comfort comment, as that was the one I was most skeptical of. No huge potholes, just a crap ton of pitting and patches, and it was a *truly* night and day difference. As a bit of an audiophile I'd say it's like listening to a bass-heavy track with a set of speakers with very tight bass control compared to a set that's mediocre. It's the same bass notes at the same volume, but so much more enjoyable, and because of the lack of distortion, doesn't actually sound nearly as loud, or have nearly the propensity for inducing headaches.

[Fast.F10]

Had them on my E60 and when the time is right, will also be on the F10. Nice write up.

[Fast.F10]

Originally Posted by vafan13

I do want to say that I purposely went on a terrible road (twice) to test his comfort comment, as that was the one I was most skeptical of....No huge potholes

You sure your in Michigan? Doubtful this was a drive on I94 or I75

[vafan13]

Originally Posted by Fast.F10

You sure your in Michigan? Doubtful this was a drive on I94 or I75

ohh there's plenty of f'ing potholes around here, just not on that road. There were, but they finally patched them all up, so instead of bending a rim you rattle your teeth out.

I94 is actually not to bad around me, but US23 is getting pretty bad.